Strays
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Belle cannot stand her landlord, Mr. Gold. When she finds a stray cat, she never imagined that he would be what brought them closer together.


Belle knew the rule in her apartment building and she knew it well. Mr. Gold was very strict when it came to rent being paid on time, but he was doubly that when it came to his no pet policy. While some landlords might kick in a fee of some sort, he was firm. There were to be no pets in any of his locations. Belle was happy to abide by that at first. When she moved out of her father's house, she left with very little. The last thing she would dare to do would bring his prized dog along with her, no matter how attached she was to King.

Then she saw the cat lurking around the building. She wondered at first if anyone had tried to sneak it in, but as far as she could tell, no one would be quite so bold. So, she chalked it up to maybe belonging to the house across the street but when she got to know James Rogers and his daughter, Alice, they informed her that they had no pets. The cat was a stray, a part of the neighborhood that everyone knew about and accepted.

She left him alone, at first. She knew if she got any closer to the cat, she'd fall in love. One evening when she was in the complex's pool, she watched as it wormed it's large furry behind through the gate and licked the pool water. She watched in awe, yet still kept her distance.

A week later when she was coming home with her groceries, she saw it again, hanging outside her door. She gnawed on her lip as it rubbed against her legs and let out a soft meow.

"Just…wait right here," she told it. "I'll come back with some food for you."

However, by the time she made it back into the apartment, the cat had followed her in. She couldn't very well tell it to leave, now could she? As of that moment, Belle French was a cat owner.

The first stop was to take him (not an it anymore) to the vet and get him checked out. Surprisingly, he was fine, just in need of a few vaccinations. Apparently, someone had already had him neutered so there was no need to worry about that. He was so big and fluffy, yet with such tiny legs. She was always so afraid that he was going to fall over, that she named him Tippy.

Getting everything together for him was the easy part, keeping him a secret was a whole other can of worms. She despised Mr. Gold as it was. He wasn't a very kind man, always seemed to go around town intimidating everyone. He didn't seem any fonder of her either, given her father. Moe French was known for not being the most responsible when it came to paying off his debts and he seemed to assume that Belle would be the same. As a result, she tried to do her best to pay on time and give him no reason to evict her.

"Which is why having a secret cat is a great idea," she mumbled as she cleaned out Tippy's litter box. It wasn't as if she had anywhere else to go. Gold seemed to own most of the town and the buildings he didn't were way out of her price range on a librarian's salary. Until she could manage to save up a little more and move somewhere with a pet friendly landlord, it had to be a secret.

There was a sudden knocking at her door that spooked Tippy and caused him to run under the dining room table. Belle stood up, arching her back and checking the clock. Sometimes James would swing by and ask if she could babysit Alice, but it wasn't anywhere near time for him to work. She headed over to the door and did a double take when she found Gold on the other side.

"Mr. Gold," she fumbled, wiping her palms on her skirt. "What are you doing here?"

"Rent was due yesterday."

"I could've sworn it was due today, I was going to bring it by."

"Rent is due the first of the month, not the second."

Belle looked at her calendar and cursed herself. She had been so busy with work and the new pet, she had completely mixed up her days. She rushed over to her purse and fumbled around for her checkbook. She could hear Gold's cane scrape against the floor and she froze.

"Is there really any need for you to come in here?" She snarled.

"It's my property."

"Do you often barge into the homes of people you rent to?"

"Only when they're behind."

"It's a day. I'm sorry."

"Well, perhaps be more prompt next time. May I suggest a little ribbon around your finger?"

His condescending tone was enough to make her glare at him. She scribbled out the check and thrust it into his hand.

"There. Are we done now?"

Before he could continue, Tippy came out from underneath the table and made his way over. He rubbed against the man's legs and Belle's face turned white. The smirk that appeared upon Gold's lips was enough to make her want to scream.

"Miss French, I do believe that in your lease, there's a no pets policy."

"Look…"

"Is this not the stray I see around here often?"

"You know there's a stray and did nothing about it?"

"Strays exist, I came across my fair share in New York. I did the responsible thing and got it fixed about a year ago, I give it some food and every now and again, as does the rest of the neighborhood. I'm sure he was quite fine on his own."

"He needed a place to live, so I gave him one. He followed me in here!"

"Either way, you know this is violating your lease. I sure hope this little fella was worth becoming homeless like he once was."

He headed for the door and Belle's jaw tightened.

"He was."

"Very well, Miss French. You have 30 days to leave the property and that's me being generous."

Tiergan Gold made his way into his house later that afternoon, hit by the sudden aroma of Italian food. It could only mean one thing: his daughter-in-law was cooking.

When Neal brought Emma home, Tiergan had been suspicious but she soon one him over. She could hold her own in their snark offs and seemed to genuinely care about him. Even after the wedding and Neal moved out, they were over almost every single day to take care of him. They worried and he appreciated it, even if it could be a tad overwhelming at times.

"I smell garlic," he said, walking into the kitchen.

"Wanted to confirm that you're really not a vampire," Emma teased.

Neal chuckled as he sprinkled the cheese onto the bread. "How was your day, Pop?"

"It was alright." Tiergan set his briefcase down. "Have to evict one of my tenants, though."

"What absurd rule did they break this time?"

"I do not have absurd rules."

"Yeah, you do. Why do you think Emma and I bought instead of rent?"

"The no pet thing is a bit ridiculous," Emma cut in. "I mean, come on. You love animals."

Tiergan rolled his eyes. "I love animals, but they bring down property value and are hell to clean up after."

"That's exactly what security deposits are for. If they leave the apartment a mess, they don't get it back."

"Look, they're my properties, my rules. I don't want animals in them. Miss French will just have to find another place to live."

Neal and Emma exchanged a look. "Miss French, as in…Belle French?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Are you sure you're not just using her father against her?"

"Why would I do something like that?"

"Because Moe is the tenant from hell, you've only bitched about him for years," Neal said. "Ever since Belle started renting from you, you seem to want her out for some reason or another."

"She brought a cat into the apartment."

"Is that really such a big deal? I seem to remember that when you found out Archie had a dog, you turned a blind eye until he moved out."

"That's…"

"Not at all different. Look, Pop, she's a nice girl. So she has a cat, so what? You love cats, we had one growing up. Belle's a good tenant, you said yourself she keeps the place clean, pays rent on time…"

"She was late this month."

"How late?"

"A day."

"Oh, may the Heavens strike her down," Emma rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Tiergan. This feud you have is with Moe, not her. Open up your heart a little bit."

Belle was curled up on the couch with Tippy relaxed into her side. She ran her fingers through his thick fur as she scanned her laptop for some nearby apartments. Sure enough, nothing she found was cheap enough for her. After venting to James, he had said that she could move in until she found something new, but that wasn't fair too him. He had just started seeing someone and Alice would get far too attached to Tippy. No, she'd find a way out of this on her own.

A swift knock on the door caused her to shut the laptop and press a kiss to her cat's head. "I'll be right back, Tip." She padded to the door and opened it, finding Tiergan Gold on the other side. She folded her arms over her chest. "I thought you said I had 30 days."

"I changed my mind. You can stay."

She raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Maybe I was a bit rash. You did break your lease…but, you're otherwise a good tenant. Not as if you have anyone else living here, right?"

"Of course not."

"I brought the little guy something." He reached into the paper bag he was holding and pulled out a few toys. "To keep him entertained."

"Um…thanks." She slowly accepted them. "Mr. Gold…why are you doing this?"

"Because maybe I've been a bit unfair to you, because of your father."

"Gee, you think?"

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I just…I don't know what I was expecting. Still, it wasn't fair to you. I'm sorry."

An apology. No one ever got those out of him. "Well…thanks. I appreciate that."

"Do you mind if I come in and see the little guy?"

Slowly, she smiled. "No…no, of course not."

It became a tiny tradition for the two of them. Every rent day, Tiergan would come by and collect the check, along with bringing a new toy or two for Tippy. Together, he and Belle would play with him, a small friendship blooming between them. It wasn't long before both seemed to be looking forward to these nights and they began happening more frequently than once a month. Belle would find reasons for her landlord to stop by and he would think of things around the place that needed to be fixed.

One night, Belle phoned him to report that her garbage disposal wasn't working. She fluffed up her hair and slid into a little black dress. When she opened the door, she leaned in the doorway, smiling a bit.

"Thanks for coming by so quickly."

"Well, there's no reason why this shouldn't be working."

He headed into the kitchen and frowned when he noticed it was simply off. A flick of the switch and it was working fine yet again. He set down his tools and turned back to her, in time to catch her pouring out the wine.

"Oh, so you had other plans for tonight, did you?"

"We've been at this game for months now, Mr. Gold," she whispered seductively. "I have to think that you're coming over here for more than just my pussy…maybe looking for another one entirely."

He grinned and moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "This seems like a scene straight out of a porno."

"And how would you know about one of those?" She asked, faux curiosity in her voice.

"You little shit," he mumbled.

Their lips collided and her fingers ran through his hair. They fumbled their way into the back of the apartment where her bedroom was and he flung her back on the bed, watching her pant. He unbuttoned his shirt and slowly removed his pants. She was quick to remove her dress and panties, allowing him to take her in.

He climbed onto the bed and let his finger circle her vagina, twirling the hair that surrounded the area. He gently tugged on it, causing her to let out a tiny moan. His tongue circled her belly button and went lower and lower.

Another harsher moan hissed through her lips. "Not the part of you I want inside of me right now."

"Tell me what you want."

"I want to feel you come inside of me."

"Protection…"

"I'm on the pill, we're good."

That was all he needed to straddle her, his cock growing harder by the moment. He entered inside of her and both became one with pleasure. Beads of sweat poured down Belle's forehead as he gripped onto her and she spent time between marveling at how hard he felt and giving him tiny kisses. She felt her mouth slip into an o shape as she orgasmed.

"Can't hold it in much longer," he whispered.

"Come for me, baby."

At her command, he came and she let out a squeal. He fell beside her and she curled up into his chest, both of their hearts pounding. It had been well worth the wait, but both were silently kicking themselves for not getting to it sooner. They didn't say anything at first, just breathing heavily and listening to the wind that rustled the tress outside her window.

The door was pushed open and Tippy made his way in, jumping up on the bed and curling up on Tiergan's chest. He chuckled a bit and stroked his fur, kissing his nose.

"I think he's happy about our union," he mused.

"Oh, most definitely."


End file.
